Third-person POV:
Thorin thought it would be best to avoid the Elves catching onto the company's trail by taking a mountain pass. He had asked Leo before leaving Rivendell if this was a safe idea, and she had informed him that it was most likely not and there were other ways. Despite the advising, the company found themselves on a narrow, mountain pass during a violent, raging thunderstorm. In a single-file line, the dwarves and the hobbits climbed the steep, slippery path.
"Alright, hold on!" Thorin, who led the group, called over the roaring of the rain.
Leo nervously watched everyone in the company but kept a closer eye on Bilbo - who walked one dwarf in front of her - and Fili - who was placed not far behind Thorin. Fili had fought to walk with her, but Thorin insisted he walk in the front.
A loud clap of thunder shook the path, causing Bilbo to almost tumble forward. Dwalin quickly grabbed him and yanked him back. Leo latched onto one of Dwalin's fingers to steady herself after her heart had almost leaped from her chest. Dwalin tried to shake off the tiny hand but it was no use.
"We must find shelter!"
"Look out!!"
Through the fog and rain, Leo could see a gigantic boulder hurdling their way. It struck the mountain just above them - they all ducked and covered their heads to avoid the falling rocks.
"This is no thunderstorms! It's a thunder-battle! Look!"
Up from the mountain across from the arose a gargantuan stone giant. The giant broke off a boulder and threw it past the group, hitting another giant that was making its way around the mountain.
"Well bless me. The legends are true! Giants! Stone giants!" Bofur stood in awe and terror at the giants.
"Take cover, you fool!" Thorin shouted to Bofur who was too close for comfort.
The company pressed themselves as firmly as they could to the side of the mountain as it violently started to shake. Leo lifted herself from the rock a bit to see the mountain splitting, separating the company; more specifically, Fili and Kili. The company had managed to stop on the knees of yet another stone giant as he rose from his mountain home. The first giant barrel toward the one new one and struck him in the head with his own, sending him tumbling back into the mountain. The giants left knee - carrying the first half of the company - had landed close enough to the rest of the mountain pass for them to jump off.
The other half of the company, including Leo, were still stuck on the giant as he continued to battle. The head of the giant had been knocked off by another as his stone body began to fall; however, his knee was now facing the mountain as he began to fall.
Leo's grip on Dwalin's finger tightened as she knew what was coming. The giant's knee crashed into the mountain, sending sharps of rock flying.
"No!!" Thorin bellowed as he ran to see if any of the dwarves - or Bilbo or Leo- had survived. "Kili!!" he called out again in desperation.
Fili was frozen in terror - his brother and his love were crushed to death in front of him.
Thorin rounded the corner to hear the many groans and moans from all of the dwarves and the hobbits. Thorin couldn't help but smile.
"We're alright!" Balin cheered. "We're alive!"
The cheering was quickly ended when Bofur's headcount turned up one member short. "Where's Bilbo? Where's the hobbit."
Leo's eyes scanned the ledges until she saw two tiny hands gripping for dear life. "Bilbo!!" her scream alerted the dwarves to Bilbo's location as they rushed to save him.
Ori and Bofur lunged at Bilbo as his grip slipped from the path. "Grab my hand! Bilbo! Come on and take it!"
The two dwarves struggled to get a grip on Bilbo. Thorin swung down himself to grab Bilbo's arm and toss him to the dwarves at the top. Thorin then lost his own grip but Dwalin managed to grab onto his arm and lift him back up onto the pass.
Leo rushed to him as he immediately grabbed her hand to calm himself.
"I thought we'd lost our burglar," Dwalin said in a relieved tone.
"He's been lost ever since he left home. He should never have come. He has no place amongst us." Thorin barked. Bilbo's face turned from terror to hurt in seconds. Leo went to bark back at Thorin but figured that until they were on solid ground, now wasn't the time.
Thorin spots a cave behind them. "Dwalin!" he summons him to inspect the cave with him.
After helping Bombur to his feet, Fili spotted Leo walking with a tremoring Bilbo to the cave. She stopped when she saw Fili. Bofur walked by and took Bilbo's other arm. "I'll take him from 'ere, lass."
Fili instantly rushed to her and wrapped her in a strong hug. Leo sighed - she really needed this right now. Fili noticed that the girl was shaking as he pulled away and got down on one knee to look at her. "Are you cold?"
She nodded and wrapped her arms around herself. "I think it's a mixture of being soaking wet and being kneed into a mountain."
He rose back to his feet and wrapped one arm around her shoulder. "I can help one of those things." The two made their way into the cave.
"It looks safe enough," Dwalin concluded.
Leo got a bad feeling about this cave. She knew this area had a goblin problem years ago but, eventually, they all disappeared. As she had with the trolls, she thought it would be best to advise Thorin on the potential threat.
Leo pulled away from Fili and walked to Thorin whose back was turned to her. She placed her hand gently on his shoulder, "Thorin?"
He whipped around, "What?" he harshly responded with a glare. Leo stood a bit stunned. I guess his irritation at Bilbo is transferable from hobbit to hobbit.
She didn't respond but just stared at him for a moment before she decided it would be best to find Balin. "Balin?" Leo nervously asked, afraid they were all on edge.
He smiled sweetly and tiredly at her. "Yes, dear?"
"I know Gandalf had mentioned that it was a good idea to warn of potential threats, especially considering the troll incident," he nodded, "this area is known for the goblins that made tunnels through the mountain. They haven't been seen for years after the elves and humans started to build traps and lower the population. Despite them not being around, I wouldn't take that as them being gone."
Balin raised an eyebrow, "Well, I did not know that. I will keep an eye out best I can for anything, just in case. I'll inform some of the others as well. Did you mention this to Thorin?"
"I tried." Balin knew what she meant.
"Right. Well, that's alright. Thank ye for informing me."
Leo wanted to find Bilbo. Her heart ached at the thought of him being scared and feeling unwanted by Thorin or the company. Despite Bilbo being older, she found that she was always the one to provide the most comfort, the best advice, and the one who could read her brother like no one else - hobbits that knew them always told Bilbo how lucky he was to have her, and he couldn't agree more. She found him almost in the back of the cave, unpacking some of his things.
Leo's POV:
"Hey," I sat next to him.
"Hi,"
"Are you ok?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Bilbo's voice dripped with sarcasm.
"Don't be like that, Bilbo. Have you not already figured out what he's like. You shouldn't take it to heart."
"It's has nothing to do with how angry Thorin was it's the fact that he's right, Leo! I am lost. I don't know what I'm doing or why I came. You fit right in. You belong."
"You belong just as much as me. Thorin hates me too! Gandalf wanted both of us because he could see the potential. Bilbo, you can't give up yet. You belong here. With me."
Bilbo stopped his rummaging and looked me in the eye, "With you? You who is looked to for guidance. You who voluntarily got chased by a hoard of orcs to protect us. You who has all of these dwarves wrapped around your finger."
That last one stung a bit.
"Bilbo we would have been eaten by trolls if you hadn't bought us time! If you didn't belong then you wouldn't have been here and we would have died. And what do you mean 'wrapped around my finger'? Bilbo I can't even get Thorin to acknowledge me with so much as a smile. I think the dwarves quite like us both - with the exception of Thorin."
"No, you're wrong. The dwarves don't like us they have to put up with us because we're here. And you think the blonde one likes you? No, he doesn't. Half of his people were killed and more than likely he will die too and he knows that so why not try to get the girl while he's still alive."
And that one stung even more.
Bilbo stood up taller and his furrowed brows relaxed. I could tell he knew he had crossed the line this time. But I can't say that thought hadn't crossed my mind. I know he's angry but that doesn't mean he's wrong. Fili has developed feelings for me awfully fast.
"I shouldn't have said that, I'm sorry." Bilbo hung his head slightly.
"No..." I looked to see Fili and Kili leave the cave. "I would be lying if I said it hadn't crossed my mind."
Bilbo looked like he was going to say something but he stopped himself.
I rose from my place on the dirty ground and brushed off my pants. "Bilbo, please reconsider anything stupid you have planned."
I made my way over to Ori, who sat on the ground by his stuff. He seemed to be struggling with his boot laces that had gotten tangled. "Need help there, Ori?"
He looked up at my slightly embarrassed but nodded. "I don't know what happened! Bloody boots."
Fili and Kili came back into the cave with a small number of logs and sticks. Gloin grabbed the wood they brought in. "Right then, let's get a fire started."
"No. No fires. Not in this place. Get some sleep, we start at first light." Thorin instructed - maybe he had heard about my concerns.
I heard Balin's voice next, "We were to wait in the mountains until Gandalf joined us. That was the plan."
"Plans change. Bofur, take the first watch."
I didn't feel tired just yet so I figured instead of tossing and turning that I'd look take a peek outside of the cave. I leaned against the entrance while watching the stars begin to appear in the sky and smiled at what a beautiful night it was. Wouldn't life be easier to be a star? Or maybe not, seeing as they're only burning gas. I figured that honestly being a star sounds easier than dealing with Bilbo or Thorin when they're grumpy.
"Are you coming to sleep, love?" I felt a warm presence behind me and I smiled. I could hear Bilbo's voice in my head playing over and over: 'half of his people were killed and more than likely he will die too and he knows that so why not try to get the girl why he's still alive.'
Bilbos words fought with Fili's in Rivendell: 'So, if you wonder why I give you flowers, and I compliment you, and I will do everything in my power to protect you - it's because, and do forgive my boldness here but you asked for it, I'm starting to fall in love with you'
I sighed stared at the stars one last time for thought. "Yeah."
We walked back into the cave as I decided to move my stuff closer to Bilbo - just to keep an eye on him.
3rd person POV:
A few hours had passed as the sound of snoring and noses whistling indicated that many of the dwarves and Leo were fast asleep. Bilbo, however, was tiptoeing around Leo as he packed his things. Bilbo tossed his backpack over his shoulder and shivered a bit as a breeze passed through the cave. The cold chill caused the sleeping hobbit at Bilbo's feet to also shiver. Bilbo glanced at her and noticed that she has somehow managed to roll on top of her blanket. He couldn't help but smile at his sister as he thought back to when they were younger; Leo would always end up either rolling on top of her blanket or losing it altogether. Instead of trying to pull it out from under her and risk her waking up, Bilbo yanked at his blanket out of his bag and laid it over her. In response to the blanket, Leo wiggled deep into the cover just above her nose.
Bilbo watched his sister for a moment as his heart ached knowing he was going to leave her without saying goodbye. He knew she would be happier living the adventure she had always wanted, and he knew he couldn't convince her otherwise. Bilbo glanced next to his sister to notice a sleeping dwarf - a blonde dwarf to be exact. Fili had, only within the past hour, moved closer to Leo just in case. Bilbo knew he would not have been able to protect like he wanted to, but he knew she would have someone who would.
With one last glance at Leo, Bilbo quietly shuffled through the sea of dwarves. His eyes were so fixed on the exit that he didn't notice Bofur.
"Where do you think you're going?" Bilbo jumped at the voice and turned to see Bofur leaned against a rock.
"Back to Rivendell."
Bofur quickly stood as concern laced his voice. "No. No. No. You can't turn back, now. You're part of the company. You're one of us. And you can't leave your sister like this."
"I'm not though, am I? Thorin said I should never have come, and he was right." Bofur's face fell in sadness. Unbeknownst to the hobbit and dwarf, Thorin was listening to every word. "I'm not a Took, I'm a Baggins, I don't know what I was thinking. Leo got all the Took between the two of us, that's obvious. I will miss her and I will worry constantly for her but I cannot protect her. She seems like she will be well looked after." Bilbo nudged his walking stick in the direction of Fili, who had laid his hand on Leo's elbow that poked out from under her blanket. "I should've never run out the door."
"You're homesick, I understand."
"No, you don't! You don't understand, none of you do, you're dwarves! You're used to...to this life, to living on the road, never settling in one place, not belonging anywhere!" Realization quickly hit Bilbo when Bofur dropped his head slightly. "I'm sorry. I didn't..."
"No, you're right." Bofur looked out at his fellow dwarves. "We don't belong anywhere." Nearby, Thorin sighed as he could feel the pain in Bofur's voice. "I wish you all the luck in the world. I really do. And we will look after little Leo for ye."
With a smile and a pat on Bilbo's shoulder, he turned to head back to his spot; he stopped, however, when he noticed a glow radiating from Bilbo's sword.
"What's that?"
Bilbo slowly lifted the sword from its sheath as the ground suddenly began to rumble and split.
Thorin shot up. "Wake up. Wake up!"
The dwarves and hobbits hadn't had much time to react before the ground opened like a trap door, swallowing them all into the massive hole.